Nandagopal Rajan
THE ERNAKULAM NIZAMUDDIN Mangla Express slowly chugs into the platform to begin its 52-hour journey to the Capital of the geo-social cocktail called India.
Covering one of the longest railway routes in the country during its 3,500-km trip, the Mangla Express acts as the train home for many South Indians, especially Malayalees. And during its upward climb towards "Indraprastha" the same metal centipede transforms into a dream merchant for thousands of Keralites leaving their homelands in quest of their fortune up North.
Starting at Cochin, the Queen of the Arabian Sea, the Mangla Express begins its journey in the backdrop of the world famous backwaters of Kerala, slowly weaving its way between the coconut textured terrain of "Gods Own Country" into the cultural capital of the state -- Trichur, where every year the spectacle of Pooram outshines the extravaganza of the previous year.
The next major stop, over 200 km from Cochin, is the ancient port city of Kozhikode. Famous as Calicut where Vasco Da Gama landed over 500 years ago, triggering a spate of explorations which ultimately subjected the country to 300 years of foreign rule.
By now the train has begun to fill up. Families returning to destinations in the North after a short holiday home, soldiers returning to the borders after their annual leave, students preparing for national-level examinations and noisy group of NCC cadets on way to attend a national camp in New Delhi.
The train slowly moves into the saffron dusk dissecting North Malabar in the process and leaving behind the erstwhile French colony of Mahe and the colonial towns of Tellichery and Kannur. But lost in the fast enveloping darkness is the soul stirring seaside fort of Bekal, made famous by the Tuhire number in Mani Ratnam's Bombay. Standing as a silent witness to over 800 volatile years of history that saw the local chieftains, Tipu Sultan and the foreign traders striving for control over its sprawling and strategic ramparts.
By night, the Mangla, as it is popular among most regular passengers, is in the green vastness of South Canara. Gliding through the port city of Mangalore and the temple town of Udupi, famous for its culinary exports like Dosa and Idli. Nearly four hours through the lush green plains of coastal Karnataka and the train enters Goa; the seductive beaches of which are by now veiled by a cloak of darkness. But can windows confine the winds and can real beauty be fettered by the night? Silhouettes of tall spires and colonial mansions frilled by the swaying coconut trees still succeed in furnishing a good picture of "Paradiso de Goa".
Day II and the Mangla is now well into the evergreen meadows of the Konkan. Early last decade, the Konkan Railway Corporation solved the towering maze of the Western Ghats with a series of tunnels, some of them about seven km long, and bridges. The Konkan, till then a little known part of Maharashtra, was soon transformed as the gateway to the south, cutting travel hours by 10 to 15 hours.
The landscape, at times quite monotonous, had once been the greatest stumbling block for all who wanted to invade the Marathas. The labyrinth of mountains and valleys woven together by silver brooks has a near prehistoric effect, the perfect place if you want to take a sojourn from civilisation. The industrial towns of Ratnagiri and Igatpuri in this stretch in a way blow the trumpet of Mumbai, with metropolitan suburbs like Pen, Panvel and Kalyan keeping the Mangla Express at a safe distance from the maddening crowds of India's business capital.
As evening sets in on the second day the Mangla has entered the Maratha heartland. With every passing minute the famous vineyards of Nasik and Manmad slowly fade into the horizon of nothingness.
A sun shines its largesse on the great plains of Central India; the Mangla is into its final spurt towards Delhi. An early morning halt at Bhopal and the train kicks off for the erstwhile princely states of Jhansi and Gwalior. The brown earth here is dotted with gigantic forts and palaces. Though they are of the same hue on the outside; inside they have a great richness of colour, attained through eventful ions of history and culture.
Though the Mughals have long faded into the pages of history, Agra still captures the splendour of the great monarchs through their signatures made of stone and marble, nothing more popular than the Taj Mahal, a romantic story engraved in marble. After brief halt at the temple city of Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, the Mangla Express enters its last lap as it slowly makes its way through Faridabad and Ghaziabad, the industrial moons of New Delhi. For many people this is just any other train journey, but if you break self-imposed paradigms and think about the myriad cultures and places visited, it wouldn't be long before you realise that you have just completed one of the greatest train journeys on earth.
